The short answer to the question of whether oral health impacts chronic disease is yes. Whether oral health has good or bad impacts on a person’s overall health will depend on one’s habits, such as brushing and flossing. A growing amount of research has likewise linked improper oral health with chronic diseases like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Let’s look at what it is about the mouth that can impact the rest of the body and what good oral health habits can prevent such chronic conditions:

Inside Your Mouth

Few places in the body have more bacteria than the mouth. This is, after all, where most objects enter your body through breathing, eating, and drinking. Brushing, flossing, and regular dental cleanings remove the most harmful bacteria lingering in and around your teeth and gums, preventing the bacteria from causing damage.

People who don’t follow good dental habits and have poor oral hygiene contract more gum infections due to harmful bacteria. These infections often cause inflammation, which can be taxing on your body’s immune system and energy, leaving the rest of your body more at risk and vulnerable. Infections can also get into the bloodstream and can spread to the surrounding teeth, the face, and even the entire body. In rare cases, when such an infection is left untreated, a tooth infection spread through the bloodstream can damage multiple organ systems and may even cause death.

Practicing Good Oral Hygiene

Following good oral hygiene practices — brushing, flossing, mouth washing, and dental visits — pays back in many ways:

• Prevents cavities and infections from happening inside the mouth
• Prevents bad breath
• Helps to keep teeth white and bright (and make them whiter where they’ve been stained)
• Promotes healthier eating habits
• Increases saliva flow
• Increases mood and mental wellbeing

The Consequences of Poor Oral Health and Chronic Disease

As noted above, a growing amount of research has linked gum disease to an array of serious chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. These are diseases that have a number of contributing factors, but by following regular dental care and healthy oral habits, a person can decrease their risk for all three.

Remember, good dental hygiene is to fight bacteria, as harmful bacteria lead to infections, and infections that seep into the bloodstream lead to more serious health issues. The simple act of brushing your teeth after eating and regularly flossing knocks off and kills those disease-causing bacteria that would otherwise stick to your teeth and gums.

Schedule Your Routine Dental Cleaning

Good dental hygiene practices needn’t be difficult, but unfortunately, we often see people who let bad habits go for too long. The number of people in the United States with gum disease is tragically high, with 1 in 7 adults ages 35 to 44 having gum disease and 1 in 4 adults age 65 and older have lost all of their teeth. These are serious numbers that can be prevented!

Our team at Solis is here to help do just that.

We are a local Hutto, Texas dentist office, proud of our community and even more proud to give back. We are, in fact, always on the lookout for local, deserving organizations in need of financial and volunteer contributions. Have a group in mind? Send us your suggestions!

And when you’re ready to make your first dental visit, we hope you’ll also send yourself our way. You can contact us and schedule an appointment via our web app or give our friendly front desk staff a call at 512-846-3787. We’re here to serve you and are always happy to take in new patients, striving always to make a trip to the dentist’s office easy, fast, and stress-free.